3.165K fartlek - indoor track

Yesterday: elliptical for cross-training; muscles quite sore from Sunday's yoga. Mostly normal muscle soreness, but perhaps a bit of the weird soreness I experienced so severely through November.

***

Today: 3K fartlek on the schedule. 19F outside and pitch black. The roads were mostly clear after snow yesterday, but I just didn't feel like battling the cold and dark, so I went to the indoor track. I warmed up for 8 laps (1688m) in 10:40. I felt a bit off at the start, but I worked hard on technique and by the 4th lap or so it felt smoother and like things were kicking in. I then did a few dynamic drills (after the 8 laps).

I got started on the fartlek and for the first lap I was flying - felt so smooth, with such great technique. Maybe it was my fast shoes from David Smyth? He sent me them 2 yr ago and I couldn't use them then because I was recovering from a foot injury, but now they are just awesome. It was good to be fast…but I went out too fast (oops!) and at the end of the workout I paid a bit with slower times. Still, it was MUCH better than my 3K fartlek 2 weeks ago, and though I was working really hard (ave HR 166!!!), I felt my legs responding and they felt good and strong through the first 2km.

Here are my splits - "adjusted time" is divided by 1.055 to give the time if I'd done the fartlek over 3km instead of 3.165K. I'm pretty happy with the time of 17:23 and with my fast intervals - even the last one, when I was very tired from starting off a bit fast, wasn't too bad at 2:53.

lap	time	ave HR	max HR	adjusted time
1	02:51.0	152	164	02:42.1
2	02:55.0	166	170	02:45.9
3	03:12.8	166	169	03:02.7
4	02:58.2	171	175	02:48.9
5	03:21.0	168	172	03:10.5
6	03:02.5	172	176	02:53.0
	18:20.5			17:23.1

Garmin data here. 

8K

Super quick 2 min blog.

Yesterday: yoga DVD. AWESOME! It was so fantastic. Lots of great strength moves targeting all the key muscles I need to work on. Great. It's called Christine Felstead's yoga for runners, intermediate level. My brother recommended it and now I do too. I plan to do this a lot. Side effect: I'm a bit sore today :) but in a good way.

Today: 8K with 3x3' bursts. Cold but clear at 25F. Went well. I felt great and strong all the way to 7K or so and my bursts were good. 3:02, then 3:00 for 500m and the last burst was the best - so proud of it! - at 2:53. Ha! Take that, fatigue! The last year has been crappy but this workout was decent and shows I'm on the mend. After that it was uphill and I did slow a lot but not a big deal. The other great thing is that I can really feel my technique is getting solid and improving. I hope that is true when I videotape, but I feel a huge difference.

Garmin data here: 50:54 for 8K (6:21/km) with ave HR 151. You can see where the bursts were on the HR graph :).

12K

Yesterday: elliptical, then core with my friend Lisa at the gym. Haven't done core work in a while due to my illness…so I'm a bit sore today, in a good way :).

***

Today: 12K. There was a very light dusting of snow this morning and it was 28F (-2C) and cloudy. 95% of the pathway was clear, but the other 5% was scarily slippery. I fell on my rear end once, and slipped enough to scare myself on two other occasions. We (Stevie and I) had to go slower in quite a few spots - probably cost us 1-2 min? Dunno. Hard to say.

The walk today went OK. The good part? I worked hard on technique and I feel like it's coming together quite well. The bad part? I got tired very quickly, probably because I'm still sick. I still have a sore throat (pretty severe) and some serious fatigue.

1.5K before the end, I was SO frustrated with my slow 500m splits that I was getting upset. I decided I had 2 choices: give up, or try harder. So I did the latter, pushing much harder and pulling off a 3:07 (normal speed…but it felt like 2:45 because I was working hard) and a 3:14 and 3:13.

I was glad Stevie was there - beat doing that alone when I felt so lousy.

Total time: 1:20:10 for 6:41/km with ave HR 149.

Garmin data here. 

***

Didn't get to go to my Weight Watchers meeting because I 1) had breakfast with Kelly, and 2) went to the memorial service for my friend Dorothy. It was an amazing service - packed full of people and not a dry eye in the house. She was an incredible person and loved by so many. She planned many of the details herself, and it showed. String quintet of her friends for prelude & postlude (she was a violinist), both classical music and hymns that she loved. Another friend sang "I Know That My Redeemer Liveth" from Handel's Messiah - wonderful and moving and hopeful. Congregational hymn and praise song (My Jesus, I Love Thee, and 10000 reasons) rounded out the list of great music for a great lady. I basically cried the whole service, and spent an hour there afterward talking with old friends and crying some more. Weird being happy and crying at the same time - we all agreed that we'd miss her deeply (hence all the crying) but glad for her suffering to be over and for her to be making music in a much better place.

Now I'm completely wiped. Thankfully, Loren is helping with the kids and I can get a nap.

sick

I'm sick. Not horrible, but not good either. Cold symptoms: sore throat, fatigue, headache, fatigue, and yes, did I say fatigue?

3K fartlek yesterday was out of the question. I barely dragged myself in to work.

Today, 8K was on the table, but I felt iffy. Normally I'd have pushed myself to do it, but I am worried right now about taxing my body too much as I'm recovering from my mystery illness. I feel that caution is warranted right now. So I didn't go. By evening, after working all day, I was quite tired and my sore throat was worse, so I was glad I'd skipped the workout.

I really am getting antsy though, and I'm supposed to meet Lisa at the gym tomorrow, so I think I'll do the elliptical unless I'm feeling worse. I suspect after a good night's sleep I may feel better. I hope.

rest day, 8K, cross training

Got behind a few days, sorry (haha --- sorry to the 2 people that still read this!).

Sunday: rest day

Monday: 8K. I forgot that I was supposed to do this workout with 3x3' bursts. Somehow that part of the equation left my brain. I have a lot on my mind so it's not surprising.

I worked on my technique, and was slow…still… it's going to be a while. I'm just trying to enjoy the ride now, since I know it's going to be a slow one. I felt OK, though - the weird muscle soreness didn't trouble me, and I only had a bit of residual soreness during my day at work. It's definitely going away, hopefully for good. You'd think that would make me happy (and it does) but it's a struggle not to focus ahead too much and live in the present. I keep remembering what I used to do before I was sick, and I have to let that go and just be present in the here and now. I'm trying to focus on getting stronger and having good technique so I can do the 1/2 marathon with Sarah in March.

Total time: 52:46 for 6:36/km with ave HR 145. Temperature -3C (27F), calm, hazy.

Garmin data here.

Today: 45 min elliptical

***

I've been pretty anxious lately. Not sure why, but at times it has been almost crippling. I'm somewhat anxiety-prone, but in the last 8-9 years it's generally been much better. Lately, though, it's been hard. Not sure what to attribute it to, but 1) my weight's not budging, 2) RW is tough lately, 3) a friend's husband (only 52yo) died early this month, leaving behind kids close to my kids' age, 4) another friend died last night (ovarian cancer, age 65; not unexpected, but still sad), 5) our elderly dog is ill and probably has cancer - wasting away slowly and looks skeletal - had tests done and not much to do at this point but wait, 6) lots of work stress (new people in lab, lots of projects, now some added time pressure - long story), 7) it's January and the weather is a downer.

In saying this publicly I'm opening myself to well-meaning comments that go awry…so if you are tempted to offer up some platitude, please don't. This is one of these things I just have to get through. Encouragement is welcome. Platitudes…not so much. If you don't know the difference, best not to say anything :).

Much appreciated: a gift card from a friend for Starbucks. Enjoyed 20 min coffee time before I picked up Grace from school today. Ahhhhh.

***

Strategizing: I need to get in some strength training and Pilates. I like group classes at the gym, but the times are really inconvenient. Finally had the idea to buy DVDs - got a Pilates DVD and a yoga for runners (recommended by my brother, a runner) DVD on the way from amazon. Definitely looking forward to incorporating some of that into my routine. DVDs are not as exciting as a group class, but I can do them when and where I want.

12K

Yesterday: elliptical

Today: 12K

I was worried about today, so I enlisted some help. My friend Sue (a runner) came along with me in addition to Stevie. I figured that chatting with Sue and catching up with her would help the time pass, as it's been a while since we've had a chance to run/RW together. It did help. I wasn't fast today, as you might expect, but it wasn't a death march and it felt better than Thursday. I was probably a bit lazy on my technique for the first km or so but then I felt I hit my stride and I worked on a wider stance and keeping my weight back. I felt that was going better - had Stevie watch me and he said it looked better, for what it's worth. Not sure he knows 100% what to look for but I think that he's learning a lot so he's better than no eyes looking!

It was cold and clear (21F, -6C) and the Jordan River Trail was still quite icy in a number of spots (it's been warmer during the day here so ice and snow are gradually melting, though I'm sure we'll get more); it was 95% clear, but there were patches that were not good where we had to pick our way across ice. I tried to stop my watch for most of those but probably missed some, and some were too short to bother with that, slowing our time a bit. I would guess that slowed my time by a minute over the 12K? Who knows for sure.

By 8K I complained to Sue and Stevie that my legs were tired. They weren't trashed, just tired, and I didn't have too much discomfort. I just need to get back in shape! Sue had the goal of running the whole way w/o any walking, as she's been building back up after a short break. I just wanted to finish and work on technique. We did finish, Stevie and I worked on technique, and so it was successful, even if we were slow.

Yesterday I was quite discouraged, but today I'm feeling a little better. My legs had none of the weird soreness during the walk today, and just a little bit afterward. They are still a bit stiff but it's not horrible or anything. I'm really glad that seems to be abating gradually.

Total time: 1:19:46 for 6:39/km with ave HR 145.

Garmin data here.

***

In other news, I had a good food week but gained 0.4 lb. Sometimes that happens. I am determined to stick with things and turn this around. My determination flags a bit at times because there's a lot going on between work, home, racewalking, etc., but I know there is no choice here. I refuse to go back to the way things were.

sludge 8K

I felt pretty good when I woke up, other than being quite tired because I didn't sleep well. My legs felt good and I figured the 8K would go OK. But my feet might as well have been in sludge today. That's how slow I was going. I worked hard on my technique, for all that mattered. The only thing I can figure is that my legs were very tired, despite the fact that they didn't FEEL that tired. I dunno. It was discouraging. On the up side, at least I can racewalk, and I have been eating better this week.

The only way I kept going at several points was remembering that I signed up to do the Canyonlands 1/2 with my friend Sarah on March 15. If I'm going to do that, I have to train. I want to have fun there, and feel strong and good, not crappy. That is only going to happen if I work through this. Still, it took a lot of mental energy to keep going.

Total time: slowest 8K in years, at 54:49 for 6:51/km with a low average HR of 139. Like I said, my legs were sludge and I couldn't get my HR up because of that, I think.

This is just hard. But what is the alternative? Certainly not good...

Garmin data here. 

still slower to go faster

Yesterday: 30 min elliptical. My legs were tired. Not the weird soreness, thankfully, just tired. I was glad to have cross-training.

***

Today: 3K fartlek. I knew it would be very slow. I didn't expect it would be as slow as it was, but I am OK with it. I have to go slower to be faster. I have to fix my technique flaws or I'll be injured again, and I cannot afford that as I am trying to get back into the swing of things.

The weather was typical January, at 21F (-6C) and hazy. The air pollution has been getting really bad here, as it often does in the winter. The shape of the Salt Lake Valley causes a weather phenomenon called temperature inversion, when high pressure traps colder air lower and it's colder in the city than up in the mountains. Colder, and hazier. And as the high pressure traps cold air, it also traps pollutants from industry, cars, and homes (wood-burning, etc.). It's nasty. The secret to working out in it is to go in the morning, when the PM2.5 (particulate) levels are lower. They were only 11 this morning when I walked, which is in the "green" (non-hazardous) range. So, earlier is colder (and darker…pitch black before 7) but healthier on the lungs. Oh, and I had to go on the road because the track is still under snow.

I warmed up, working hard on technique. The first 500m felt awkward, and so I stopped, racewalked VERY slowly for a bit, and then gradually accelerated until I felt I had it again. After that I felt my technique was very solid. Feet a bit farther apart, weight back, tuck butt under, keep arms back, etc. I worked it hard the whole workout today. My warmup was just under 2km at a 6:30/km pace.

Then I got started and the fartlek was ridiculously slow - my fast intervals were 3:00, 3:00, 3:06, and 3:00. The medium efforts were 3:11 and 3:09. Total: 18:27 with average HR only 151. I FELT like my HR was MUCH much higher - perceived effort was hard on the fast intervals, and medium on the others. I swear I was working hard - but I think it's just the technique changes haven't gotten wired in to the nervous system yet so it's not really all working together well.

The good news is I did a fair amount of sitting this morning at work (injections) and had only a small amount of soreness/stiffness. I'm definitely on the mend, so I just have to keep telling myself that even if I am slow I am on the upswing now. Eventually it will get better. I have to be patient.

Garmin data here.

8K slow technique work

Yesterday: rest day

***

Today I knew it was going to be a tough day. I had to work on technique, and my right shin is extremely sore (anterior tibialis muscle soreness - just sore muscles, clearly, and no injury thankfully) from Saturday's 12K. Obviously I have to fix my technique before something worse happens!

Weather: good for January at -4C (25F) and sunny and calm. Hazy and a bit polluted, but at least it was sunny.

I started off and could not get in a groove at all. I was trying lots of different things and getting discouraged. Feet wider, weight back, tuck butt under, allow hips to rotate front to back, etc. It just felt overwhelming. Every 500m I'd stop when my watch beeped and cry out of frustration and then tell myself I had to keep going - baby steps - must keep going - must fix this technique - one thing at a time - etc. At 2km, I ran into my Wasatch Walker friends (Nancy, Diane, Shelley, and Dawna) going the other way. I was so glad to see them. I started walking slowly with them, and just vented a bit to Nancy and Dawna, who were kind enough to listen and understood how I felt. I feel a bit foolish for venting like that, but sometimes you just need a good listening ear. I really appreciated their help. Nancy reminded me to just fix one thing at a time, and I knew she was right --- I had to prioritize and focus as best as I could.

After walking with them for 15-20 minutes, I resumed my own workout and though it was slow, I was able to focus a lot better. I worked on keeping my feet a bit wider (not allowing them to cross over so far) as that is the root of a lot of the other problems, and is probably causing my shin and piriformis trouble. The piriformis was fine today (whew!); the shin, not so much, but it was going to be sore no matter what I did. I also worked on keeping my weight back, and when I thought of it, tucking my butt under and allowing hips to rotate. I had to concentrate really hard, and the mental effort was considerable in my somewhat fragile state. I was very, very slow, but I told myself not to think about that at all. I am sure I was slow mostly because of the right shin and the technique work, and I know that once I get through all of this that will improve. It's just a matter of patience, and I'm not patient. But I'm learning. Or something.

Friends are asking me if I'm going to do the World Masters in France next year. I have no idea! Of course I'd love to go, but it's a giant investment of time and money and I have to wait and see how my body returns to shape, if it does.

The food stuff has been going pretty well the last few days. Refocusing and only eating WW Power Foods seems to be helping a lot. We'll see what the scale says after a week. It's hard to get back in the groove, but being able to train again gives me renewed motivation. Racewalking and eating well do seem to go hand-in-hand to an extent. I was thinking today on my walk how racewalking is an integral part of being able to treat my body well and living a healthy lifestyle that is balanced and comfortable. I'm glad to be able to do it again, even though it's going to be tough to get through the next few months.

Total: 53:34 for 6:41/km with ave HR 145.

Garmin data here.

video from yesterday

A few technique videos, taken yesterday 6k into the 12k workout.

Picky things I noticed:
1) Left arm not going back far enough; arms coming a bit too far in front in general.
2) Right leg crossing the midline too far.
3) Right glutes appear a bit weaker, and right knee is drifting in.
4) I'm STILL leaning forward a teeny bit. Dang it.
5) Hips are too tight - not allowing free enough rotation (this is a consequence of #4).

What is good:
1) Knees straight.
2) Good toe-off.
3) Ahhhh, no more RW good stuff, but hey, I look fashionable in the cool Athleta jacket my mom gave me :).
4) Despite having gained weight I don't look too awful. Black tights are good haha.

12K

Yesterday: 40 min elliptical (a bit crunched for time).

***

Today: 12K (7.4 miles). Weather: -7C (19F), sunny, calm. The inversion is building, so it was a bit hazy.

I met Stevie at Liberty Park for a good 12K together. His dad took some video of us in the middle of it, and I'll post it once he uploads it and e-mails me the link. Jim wanted to see some video to help with technique, which I'm happy about, though already I can tell it has improved since he gave me some suggestions the other day. Stevie was kind enough to give me some pointers today as well (arm stuff) and I helped him out the same way. No local coach = we have to look out for each other!

I was SO glad to have Stevie along. I was slowish today, and my legs got tired at the end, but I could tell my technique was a lot better and I had none of the weird soreness at all. The last few km I struggled to keep a reasonable speed, sinking to 6:45/km at times, but Stevie kept me entertained with stories from the racewalking camp in Texas, which helped me a lot. I was pretty worried that today would be really hard, but it wasn't that bad! It's been a pretty good week, aside from Wednesday's failed attempt at a 3K fartlek. In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't do it, as I probably would have made the piriformis worse, and as it is, it is getting better now. I tend to err on the side of pushing myself too hard sometimes, and I'm trying to learn that sometimes less is more.

Total time: 1:17:51 (fastest at that distance or greater since 15K Nationals in May, believe it or not!) for the 12K with ave HR 150. I was reading over my blog to see when the last time was that I did that distance that fast, and WOW what a terrible year I had. I knew that, but it was good to be reminded of how bad I felt and to realize that even though I know I still have a VERY long way to go to be back in shape, at least I'm a lot better than I was, and I'm on the road to recovery.

In other news, I went to Weight Watchers today and the scale was not kind. OK, well, considering the holidays, it could have been worse. I weighed in at 163.2, which is 0.2 lb less than on December 14. Still - I am 8 pounds over my goal weight (gulp!) and about 15 lb over my racing weight. Time to get it together. No more excuses. I talked to my leader, and she suggested I try the Simply Filling technique for two weeks and see how that goes. Basically, you confine yourself to Weight Watchers Power Foods in amounts that leave you feeling satisfied, and you are also permitted to have 7 points of "indulgences" daily. I think this is just what I need to get back on track.

Garmin data here.

slower to be faster

Technique work today after a chat with my coach online about what to do about my piriformis pain. Honestly, I know I need to fix a few things that have gotten lazy with all the time off etc. Coach said to work on posture and foot placement. I did just that, and felt like things were much improved. My piriformis still ached a bit, but I think it will take a day or two to settle down completely.

The bad side? I was a lot slower as I worked on that stuff. I only did 6:30/km for 51:59 total, with ave HR 146. The good? I felt smoother and felt less pain. Edited to add: 8K total (this is obvious if you calculate it, but nicer to have it down here for easy reference).

Mentally I was a bit better today, but I started off a bit down and had to remind myself that it is going to take a long time to get back where I was. Baby steps. Easy and slow. Keep going. One foot in front of the other.

Garmin data here.

cautious

Yesterday: 45 min elliptical.

***

My right piriformis was bothering me a bit yesterday and some this morning, too. I went out to warm up, and it just didn't feel quite right. I decided to be cautious and not do the 3K fartlek. Instead I did a very slow 3.2km (2 miles), focusing on form and on using my left glutes more. I can still feel it, later today (3:30pm) so I suppose I made the right decision… but I feel vaguely guilty. I probably *could* have done the workout. At least my muscles don't have the weird soreness going on.

Mentally, I'm a bit tired. Work is hectic, as we are still interviewing post-doc candidates, and I have a seemingly endless to-do list (good because it's job security and I like being busy, but bad because it's a bit stressful and there's some time pressure) and new people in the lab to train. Home has been crazy because of the head lice. We had to shampoo and comb again last night and wash all the kids' bed linens and coats and the like all over again. Add in a memorial service on Monday for a friend's husband who died too young (they have a son Grace's age and a daughter a bit older than Calvin) and some changes with the church music ministry (good overall, but still changes) that required an extra meeting this week, and I have maxxed my capacity for handling things with extra effort, like speed work when my leg is hurting. Oh yeah, and my Christmas tree is mocking me daily because it's still up.

I'm still struggling to lose the weight I put on, and not really getting the upper hand on things. It's not getting worse, but not better either. I'm hovering at about 161-162 pounds…ughhhhh. Yeah, it's better than 250, where I started, but it's not good.

I need to do some weight training to try to help my left leg pull its weight, but I'm a bit afraid to start weight training because I'm worried it will make my fatigue and/or muscle pain to come back. Logically, I don't think it will, but it's hard to be motivated when that is going on. Add in the mental tiredness and it's just not happening right now.

I wish I knew how to kick-start my motivation. Sometimes I think we just have to put one foot in front of the other and keep going as best as we can, and the motivation will return eventually. I hope.

8K with 3x3' at 10K pace

I felt mostly recovered this morning. I was looking forward to walking outside, as I couldn't all last week… but guess what? SNOW :(. Just a dusting, but it was VERY slippery. Then I didn't really want to go. It's hard to be motivated at the beginning of training. YES, I'm thrilled I can racewalk again, but it's still tough because I'm afraid of overdoing it, and I'm afraid of the weird pain. Yup. But I didn't let all that stop me this morning (pat on the back).

Indoor track: 37.9 laps. Wheeeeeeeee! I started off well, but around 6K or so my legs really got tired. My first two 3' bursts were decent, but my last one…not so much…it was 6:10ish/km? The first two were under 6' per km, which was good.

Still, it was a decent workout all in all. My time was 50:31 for 6:19/km with ave HR 154. My legs didn't have any of the weird soreness during the workout, but afterward they were bothersome, especially when sitting. It's eased up a bit now (4pm) and hopefully it won't bother me much more today. Tomorrow is x-training.

Garmin data here.

12K - New Year's Revolution Run

Yesterday (Friday), I did the elliptical for 1 hour at the gym. My legs felt good.

***

Today was the New Year's Revolution Run at the Olympic Oval. Basically, you pay your entry fee and then you try to run/walk/whatever for as many laps as you can (442m per lap in lane 1; 448.3 in lane 2) between 8am and 1pm.

Jim wanted me to try for 12K today. I have to admit I wasn't sure I was going to make it that far, as I haven't done it since September, and it was a miserable slog then. But I am feeling better, so I figured it was worth a shot.

In lane 2, 12K is 26.76 laps. I started off a bit fast, and settled in by lap 3 or 4 (I was doing 6:01-6:05ish for the first 3 laps!). I wanted to do 6:15 or 6:20/km pace, but that was a bit optimistic I think. I ended up with 1:18:15 for 6:31/km with ave HR 152. My legs got heavy about 6 or 7km in, but they didn't feel awful. I was just slow. They never had that weird pain, thankfully - maybe it's going away, finally? The last couple km were harder, and my legs were quite tired, but it wasn't a death march. At the end I was doing about 6:45/km, but that's not THAT terrible, all things considered. Actually, this 12K was about a minute or a minute and a half faster than the last 12K that I did, back on the first weekend in September when I went to the Salmon Marathon with Sarah. And it felt a lot better today, too.

Afterward, Sarah and I enjoyed breakfast at the Belgian Waffle and Omelet Inn. We split a veggie omelet and French toast, and it was lovely.

When I got home, I spent a couple hours vacuuming out the car and then cleaning the upholstery - the kids got head lice and it's been a nightmare… and today it was really WARM out - weirdly warm for January at 50F (10C) - so it was the perfect day to clean the car. That pretty much wasted me for the day, so now I'm going for a much-deserved nap.

Garmin data here.

8K

Today I was to do 8K, back-to-back after my 3K fartlek yesterday. Even though by my previous standards these are "nothing" workouts, they are not right now, sadly. So I was apprehensive about how my legs would feel.

Turns out they felt fine! I was so relieved. None of the weird pain at all, and a bit of heavy-leggedness at the end (last 1km?) was my only problem. I felt pretty good.

It snowed more, so it was off to the indoor track as the roads were quite slippery. It's supposed to be stormy through Sunday, so it's going to be a lot of indoor work. This morning I had to get to work, so not enough time to drive to the Olympic Oval. The field house at the U is closer and the 211m track beckoned. 37.9 laps should do it!

Like I said above, things went pretty well. My Garmin data is here; I finished in 50:20 for 6:17/km with ave HR was 149, and I stopped twice briefly for a bit of water.

Tomorrow is a cross-training day.

elliptical; 3.165K fartlek

Yesterday I was actually fairly sore from the 8K with bursts on Monday. Good thing I had a day to recover! I did some cross-training on the elliptical. I will admit I was a bit worried because I was sore. But I know better… this recovery thing is not linear and is 3 steps forward, 2 steps back.

***

Today I felt a lot better on waking. My muscles were well-recovered.

Unfortunately, it was snowing (and has continued to snow all day - we have at least 4-5 inches of the white fluffy stuff), so outdoors was out of the question. Fortunately, I have the indoor track at the U just a short drive away, so off I went.

I warmed up for 8 laps (211m/lap) for 1688m in 10:22 with ave HR 142. I felt pretty good, and felt strong. I focused on pulling my arms back, standing up straight, and using my glutes - especially my left glutes. Might as well work on technique!

After some dynamic stretching (they have a nice barre right next to the track - super for dynamic and static stretching), I got going. Since the track is 211m, all of my intervals are a bit long - the 1k is actually 1.055km, and the 500m are 527.5m. However, since my coach wants to know my 500m and 1000m times, I've converted them by dividing by 1.055, so the reported times here are the converted ones.

I got off to a great start with my first 1K in 5:29.5. Then my first 500m medium effort was only a 3:02.8. My next 500m was 2:47.6, then a medium effort in 3:07.3, and my final fast 500m was 2:48.6. Total time was 17:15.8 (actual time for the 3.165km was 18:13), which I'm pretty happy with. Average HR was quite high at 165 and my max was 176. I definitely gave this one a good hard effort. I felt my legs held up very well to the end - felt strong and able to push in the last 500m.

Garmin data here.

rest day; 8K with 3x3' at 10K pace

Sunday was a rest day. My legs had that weird soreness on Sunday morning, especially when I was sitting playing the piano for rehearsal then sitting in church. Ouch.

***

This morning my legs were still a bit sore. I drove over to the Olympic Oval for 8K with 3x3' at 10K pace anyway. I went there because 1) my friends Nancy and Bonnie were working out there, and 2) I thought inside and warm sounded nice. It wasn't THAT cold out this morning, but one does get sick of it after a while, and the track at the Oval is SO much nicer than the indoor track at the Field House at the U. How could I resist?

My legs actually felt OK during the workout - they did get heavy and a bit slow the last km or so, but otherwise they were all right. No weird soreness until AFTER I stopped and drove home. Then they bothered me on and off until mid-afternoon. Now they feel OK; fortunately, tomorrow is x-training so they'll get a bit more rest.

Total time was 50:59 for the 8K for 6:21/km with ave HR 153. Yeah, a bit slow, but not too awful. My bursts were 1 lap each of the oval (442m), for 2:34, 2:34, and 2:40 (last one I was tired, clearly!). 2:34 works out to 58 min 10K pace so that's not too bad, actually.

I have a long way to go, and things could still get ugly again. But I'm trying to move forward at least!

easy 6K

This morning my legs felt pretty good. My hamstrings were definitely a bit sore from yesterday, but it was mostly the normal muscle soreness, not that more piercing weird soreness I have been suffering from all last year. That was definitely reassuring, though sore is still sore, and I knew that walking the day after speed work would be tough, given my recent history.

I got ready to go, and Calvin said, "Mommy, I want to go with you!". So I waited for him to get ready and we set out together. It wasn't too cold at -3C (27F), calm, and sunny. It's a good thing we waited until late morning to go, because the roads were still snow-covered on the side streets and it was quite slippery in spots. There were a couple 500m stretches where I'm sure we'd have been at least 10 sec faster if not for the snow.

My legs were tired but none of the weird soreness until about 5K, when I could tell that yesterday's speed work was catching up to me. Even so, it wasn't too bad, and though I am somewhat sore now, it's not terrible.

Jim thinks I'm ready to try a 2-week schedule, so we've got 4 walks planned for next week, including another 3km fartlek. The long walk next week will be a 12K, and that's going to be interesting seeing as how I haven't gone that far since August. To motivate myself, I signed up for the New Year's Revolution Run at the Olympic Oval, where you have 5 hr to run or walk as far as you like, with electronic lap counting. I figure I'll do better if I have a crowd around and a party-ish atmosphere.

Totals for today: 6K in 37:49 for 6:17/km with ave HR 144.

Garmin data here. 

8K, elliptical, 3K fartlek!

Wednesday morning (New Year's Day) I felt recovered, and so I did 8K. It was a bit of a slog, but not too bad. My legs held up well until about 6.5km, and after that the uphill and tiredness got me a bit. I still managed 8K in 50:31 for 6:14/km with ave HR 150.

Garmin data here. 

***

Thursday I woke very tired and sluggish. I had thought about a 3km fartlek but decided it wasn't the day for it. I opted for 40 min elliptical in the afternoon after work.

***

Today I felt good when I woke up! Yes, really - good! So I decided that it was time for the 3km fartlek Jim wants me to do weekly to get back in shape. I was dreading it a lot, as I know what speed work can do to my legs if they aren't good, but actually it went well considering.

I had to do the workout on the street because the track is under snow. It was decent out for a January morning, at -8C (18F). Yeah, that's cold, but it felt all right with the right gear.

I warmed up on a nice downhill, and felt good, doing 2K in 11:38 with a HR of 141. Then I did some dynamic stretching (my right flutes are still a bit sore from the soccer mishap early last week), took a deep breath, and got started.

My first 500 was too fast in 2:39. OK, it was on a downhill, but I should have paced myself. Thankfully I didn't pay for that too much, as it was a short workout and I felt decent today. The next 500m was a slight uphill and I did that in a good time of 2:54. Then my 500m recovery was 2:59, which I was pleased with and a bit surprised to see (I figured my recoveries would be 3:10ish given my lack of RW fitness). The next 500m (flat/slight downhill) I pushed to get 2:45, recovered in 3:00 (flat), and the last (slight uphill) 500m fast was in 2:55, which I was pleased with - I was quite tired at the end and with the uphill I figured it might be 3:00. Total time was 17:14 with average HR 162 and max 172 - yup, pushing hard.

I cooled down with a slow racewalk uphill for 1km. I figured I'd be sore all day, but really I've just had a touch of soreness and feel pretty good. We'll see how the recovery is tomorrow. I plan to RW at least 6km, depending on how my legs are and how the weather is.

Garmin data here.

end of year

I'm glad 2013 is almost over. I know it's just another day tomorrow, nothing really new, but mentally I can pretend that a new year might mean something new and better?

Yesterday I walked at work in the afternoon, which is usually a sluggish proposition at best, and this walk was no exception. I struggled to push at all, and my legs felt heavy and tired. I did 6km in 37:22 for 6:13/km with ave HR 147. It is a slightly hilly route at work, and I'm sure that contributed to the heavy/aching legs, but some of it was the mystery illness I think.

This morning I woke feeling ugh-ish and opted for elliptical; after 30 min I'd had enough - my legs were tired. They have felt OK the rest of the day though - not too achy even though I drove a bit after work today, taking my mom shopping up to Park City and driving to and from Sandy.

I totaled my miles for the year --- pretty pathetic compared to my usual totals, but it was the best I could do given the circumstances. I did 614 miles (987 km), all of it hard-earned.

***Mileage update - forgot miles done in part of June & July that didn't make the blog. New total: 643.5 miles, or 1035 km.

I am hoping and praying for a better 2014 for racewalking and for health in general.

challenging week

It was a challenging week. Vacation is always interesting - with more opportunities, but also more difficulties.

The soccer game on Sunday with Calvin did change my week a bit. It definitely left me sore and off-kilter, and then I followed that up with a hilly walk Monday (which actually was good, in retrospect). After that I felt I needed a day off racewalking, so I used the hotel elliptical. Big mistake. It was so different from the ellipticals at my gym! I don't know what it was about the angle of the foot plates or something - but it used my calf muscles way way more than I am used to. By that evening they were screaming, and continued to be excruciatingly painful for several days. It hurt just to walk across a room. A lot. They were tender to the touch and extremely sensitive. This left me in a quandary. I wanted to exercise - let's face it, food was going to be difficult this week, and exercise was essential - but exercise was also painful.

If you have been reading this blog any length of time, you won't be surprised that I went out and exercised anyway. Mentally, I needed it. It was painful, but on Christmas Day (Wednesday), I race walked 6.86km at a slow 6:55/km pace. My average HR was only 136 --- you can see that the problem was my sore legs, not my cardiac conditioning! To make matters worse, I had consumed a fair amount of chocolate prior to going out (hey, it was Christmas!), and I got nauseated about 2/3 of the way into my walk. That slowed me even more, but I was still glad I went out. When I got back to my brother's house (we were visiting him in northern California), my mom wanted to go for a casual walk with me. I rested up for a bit and the nausea subsided and then enjoyed a very nice walk with her. The weather was SO lovely - mid 60s (17C) and sunny. I was almost hot on my racewalk, even though I wore shorts and a T-shirt. Ahhhhh. The warm weather was fantastic.

The next day, my calves were still screaming, but I knew I had to try to exercise. The elliptical was out of the question. The kids wanted to swim in the pool at the hotel, and I wanted to walk with my mom. Solution? The exercise room had a window to the pool, so my mom and I walked on treadmills in there while watching the kids in the pool. Awesome, except that I hate the treadmill. I lasted for 30 min of good racewalking at a very slow pace (5.5 mph - 10:54/mile, which is just under 7min/km --- keep in mind that RW on the treadmill is IMO ridiculously more difficult than RW on the street) before I quit. Later that day, because I am crazy? Stupid? Forgetful? I did a very hilly hike with my brother, his wife, and Calvin. It was an awesome hike and I'm glad I went, but it did make the calf problem worse for sure. We hiked up and then did some trail running on the way down. Calvin and Alex were waaaaay ahead of me but it was still a good time.

On Friday my calves were certainly not any better for having done the trail hike/run. So I race walked anyway! I enjoyed a somewhat painful racewalk on a lovely trail over to Discovery Park in Sacramento, near our hotel. I managed 6K in 38:01 for 6:20/km with ave HR 139, which was not bad at all considering the amount of pain I was in for the first 500m. You'll notice that split was rather slow… as was the 2nd 500m because of a hill up over a bridge. Mostly the route was flat (Sacramento is very flat) but there were a few inclines on the road due to overpasses etc.

Saturday I took a rest day, because I knew I had to sit in the car all day while we drove home (10 hour drive). My legs don't tolerate car rides after RW these days. They don't tolerate car rides much at all, come to think of it, though that seems to be improving slightly.

This morning I wasn't feeling much in the mood to work out. My calves were still fairly sore, believe it or not, and my mood wasn't the best. A week of eating a bit too much combined with muscular pain had me wondering if I'd ever feel back to normal again. It's been a long year. But I got out there anyway, and as usual, felt MUCH better for having done a walk. Today I did 6.27km total in a relatively speedy (for me, lately anyway) 6:13/km for a total of 39:01 with ave HR 151. My legs actually felt quite good for most of the walk, and the odd pain I've had the last 6 months only showed up at about 5km or so, and even then it didn't sap my strength much. I finished well and wasn't sore from sitting in church afterward, either. It was cold, though… sigh… I really miss the warm weather in CA. This morning it was 18F (-8C), which isn't too terrible for here in the winter, especially since it was calm and foggy-ish, with good footing.

I'm glad I am feeling OK today, and that my muscles seem to be recovering. I am hopeful that with my return to a more normal routine this week that I will feel good and continue my improvement despite last week's stall-out.

made it through the week

Wow. About all I can say about this one is that I made it through the week. It was a bit over-the-top, with work insane, holiday preparations, getting ready to go on vacation, etc. I burned the candle at both ends for too long, and come Thursday & Friday, I had had it. I took rest days.

But let's back up a bit.

Sunday, Dec 15th: after my lovely 10K on Saturday, I decided a rest day was a good idea.
Monday: my legs felt rested and ready to go, but my 8K didn't feel good. It felt OK, but I was dragging a bit and my legs got pretty tired at the end. I still managed 50:45 for 6:20/km with ave HR147, and the good news is that later that day I felt OK and I recovered well.
Tuesday: I felt much better on Tuesday and cranked out a good 8K. 49:27 for 6:11/km with HR 150. Finished strong with a 3:01 and 3:07 for the last km. Awesome.
Wednesday: Here it began to go downhill… woke late because was up late working on holiday stuff and then only managed 30 min on the elliptical.
Thursday & Friday: tired/felt sickish (probably just from being sooooo tired)/didn't sleep enough/worked too hard. Didn't exercise. That was probably a mistake. I felt lousy.
Saturday: Got in a nice 45 min elliptical before we left on the long drive to California. We drove 12 hr from Salt Lake to Castro Valley where we visited our friends Dean and Debbie.
Sunday: played soccer with Calvin for 26 minutes before tripping and almost falling and pulled a muscle in my right glutes somewhere --- ouch. Definitely had to stop playing and was super annoyed because 1) I was having great fun even though Calvin was totally killing me, 2) I was worried about how bad it would be, and 3) darn it! I just want to be able to do stuff like this with Calvin! Walked it off and took ibuprofen and felt OK the rest of the day; a bit sore, but OK.
Monday (today): Decided to try to racewalk. I was slow and cautious and did not push at all, and in addition it is really quite hilly here, so it was a very challenging route. The good news is that I did almost 6K at 6:50/km with ave HR just 129. My right glutes were somewhat sore, but it didn't seem to do much except slow me down a bit, and they didn't get worse with racewalking. Good news. I might be slow for a few days but hopefully that's it.

Today it's on to visit my brother in Davis, CA. Hopefully I can bicycle a bit there, as well as racewalk/trail run/who knows what. My brother is a runner and it'll be fun to do some active things with him. Calvin brought his running shoes too, so perhaps the 3 of us can do a trail run.

In other news, I saw the rheumatologist (finally!) this week. They looked me over and aside from my Reynaud's phenomenon, they see no signs of autoimmune or rheumatologic disease. But because Reynaud's phenomenon is associated with some autoimmune disorders, they did some blood tests to rule them out. Interestingly, my anti-SSB/La titer was a bit high, which by itself means nothing, but does raise the index of suspicion. I have no other clinical signs of autoimmune disease though, so they just want to see me in 6 months for follow-up. There's nothing to worry about, but just need to keep tabs on things. The attending's conclusion was that I might indeed have protein deficiency - she thought my hypothesis was a good one. So I'll keep eating more protein and hope it helps. Other than the blip this week of overworking, I have continued to feel better overall.

Feeling better!

I haven't blogged in a couple weeks, but it's only been because of busyness. I have been feeling much better overall, and have been walking a lot more. Though I'm still not feeling totally normal, it's much improved.

It's been ridiculously cold and/or snowy, so it's been hard to walk outside as much as I'd like. Good thing I have the option of the indoor track! Sometimes, I've walked outside anyway, and it's been slippery; hence, my times were slower those days.

Here's a summary of what I've been up to:
Wed, Dec 4: elliptical, 45 min
Thurs, Dec 5: 8.78km racewalking, slippery - outside, Garmin data here. 6:32/km w/ave HR 141. -13C with wind chill -18C. Cold!
Fri, Dec 6: 6km racewalking, hilly route - outside, Garmin data here.  6:32/km w/ave HR 141 again. -12C with wind chill -19C. Brrr...
Sat, Dec 7: elliptical, 45 min
Sun, Dec 8: snowshoeing with Calvin, 45 min.
Mon, Dec 9: 5K on indoor track, followed by 10 min elliptical. On the indoor track I tend to push harder for some reason. 5K took 30:33 for 6:05/km with ave HR 148. My legs had a bit of the odd soreness at the end, so I stopped.
Tues, Dec 10: 6.25K Liberty Park route. It was really cold again, at -13C (wind chill -18C). I felt tired, and did only 6:28/km with ave HR 145. My eyelashes and eyebrows froze… uncomfortable.
Wed, Dec 11: 30 min elliptical. I needed some recovery.
Thurs, Dec 12: 8K on indoor track in 49:14 (6:09/km) with ave HR 150. Didn't have the odd soreness until about 7km in to the walk :). My legs were feeling great the rest of the day!
Fri, Dec 13: Much warmer outside at just -8C. It was actually not too bad. My legs were tired from the 8K, and so I just did 6.25km at 6:25/km for total time of 40:13 with ave HR 142.
Sat, Dec 14: I felt pretty good this morning, so decided on a longer walk. The weather was decent, too - almost felt warm at -4C with no wind. I decided to try for 10km. I haven't walked that far in a long time. I know, it's a bit sad since that used to be an easy recovery, but I'm just glad to be getting back into things. At 8km I did get very tired, and the odd muscle soreness was bothering me, but I felt strong enough to make it to 10km! At about 5.3km I walked by a friend's house and she was taking out her trash, so I stopped to talk with her for a bit - nice to see her. The break helped me feel refreshed and able to do the 10km. Total was 10km in 1:03:38 for 6:22/km with ave HR 147.

Summary:
Week of Dec 1-7: 33.8km (21 miles)
Week of Dec 8-14: 35.5km (22 miles)

OK, so the mileage totals are pretty much laughable, but it's the most I've done since January, between illness and injury. I know it will increase as I continue to feel better. Edited: nope, I did more for some weeks in August… but it's the most since then for sure.

Meanwhile, I haven't been doing as well with my eating. It's a hard time of the year to be disciplined, and I have fallen down a bit this week. I lost 1.8 lb over 3 weeks, but then gained 2.2 lb this week. Sigh… I am still above my goal weight for Weight Watchers, so I have to pay weekly fees. You'd think that would motivate me, but it's been challenging. But being able to racewalk again is helping my mood, which will help with my eating, and hopefully start an upward spiral.

There's a lot of work ahead, with eating and with training. Time to get serious.

3 days in a row :)

This morning my legs felt a bit tired, but the weird pain wasn't bothering me, so I decided I'd have a go at racewalking. Of course, it was snowing as predicted, so I went to the field house and walked on the indoor 211m track. It always seems harder to me to walk there than to walk on a regular track or to walk outside. The tight turns, the warm building (warmer than I'd like for racewalking anyway), and the number of laps make it tougher. So I brought some music (which I don't usually do during workouts) and decided I'd try to enjoy it as much as possible.

My legs felt fine until about 3km, when they got tired, and yes, I had some of the odd pain. But it didn't keep me from working out well, though my HR was a bit high for the speed.

I did the 6K at 6:20/km in 38:02 with ave HR 154. Yay!

Progress! (just before winter...)

I'm finally feeling sure that I am making good progress. Yesterday I did 5K easy, and today I did 8K easy. My legs hurt a bit today in that weird way, starting at 3.5K, but only a little - and it didn't hinder me from a decent time of 49:25 for 8K (6:10/km) with average HR of 149. Garmin data here.

Better yet, my legs only hurt a little bit today at work, even though I spent a good hour sitting at the microscope doing injections, and another hour sitting in a seminar. I feel fully recovered this evening, and in fact, I'd like to walk tomorrow, assuming the forecast snow dump doesn't stop me. I might just go ahead and walk at the field house on the indoor track. We'll see.

I'm really excited that I'm feeling better - finally! Too bad there's a huge storm coming tonight and winter is really here. No matter. I'm happy to be feeling decent at last. Not to say there won't be any more setbacks or problems, because after all I am still not sure what the problem was other than B12 deficiency (for sure) and protein deficiency (undiagnosed - possible not certain).

In other news, I have taken off a few pounds, weighing in at 158.6 this morning, which is the first time I've been under 160 in about a month (or so...not sure). That's not great, since my goal WW weight is 155, but it's progress toward recapturing my goal. Racing weight is lower still, but let's take baby steps toward that. I'll get back there - just have to get in the swing of training again, and continue being more disciplined with my eating.

catching up again

I've pretty much been neglecting this blog. Weird, because I've been doing a bit better overall, but life has been more insane than usual. Namely, I got a terrible stomach flu in the middle of the night after Thanksgiving, and spent the entire night worshipping the porcelain god. Yeah, it was ugly. The next day, I had chills and hot flashes, had terrible muscle pain all over, and was weak as a kitten. The good news? I felt OK by Saturday and was able to enjoy that day with my family, cleaning up the house, getting the Christmas decorations out, making turkey soup, and attending the sing-along Messiah at Abravanel Hall with my mom and Grace.

Since November 18, the last time I updated this blog, I've been racewalking a fair amount, and my legs have been holding up OK. I *might* be ready to start light training again soon. Maybe. I did a lot of cross-training from the 19th-23rd --- weather was nasty (cold rain) and I didn't have to racewalk, so I stayed warm in the gym. Last Sunday, the 24th, I did 6.25k in 39:25 for 6:19/km. On Tuesday the 26th, I did 8K (yay!) rather slowly, at about 6:27/km (missing 1km at the start, which was faster than the other km, so perhaps overall this might have been low 6:20s). I was a little tired and just took it easy.

Then on Thursday the 28th, I did the Cold Turkey 6K race, as is my Thanksgiving Day custom. The weather was cold at 33F (1C), but in the sun it felt warmer than that and I was good in just a long-sleeved shirt, tights, and gloves. I knew I wouldn't be able to race it hard, so I settled on doing it at a moderate-moderately hard pace. Garmin data here. I definitely worked it moderately hard, which is harder than perhaps I should have gone, but it was fun :). I did the race with Calvin (SO awesome!) and I knew he'd be able to go faster than me (running, to my out-of-shape racewalking). I saw him about 1.5-2 min ahead of me at the turn-around up the canyon, and it looked to me like he was in good position in his age group. I focused on being happy for him and not being unhappy for myself, since I was hurting going up the hill and knew I'd be slow. In fact, I wasn't as slow as the slowest I've done this race (when I was sick and it was icy, 2-3 yrs ago), and I was satisfied with my time of 38:11 for the 6.23km (yes, the race is longer than 6K, consistently each year) for 6:08/km with average HR 156. I felt a bit sore the rest of the day, but not terribly so. The next day I was VERY sore but I am sure that was from the flu, as by that evening I was a lot better and on Saturday, 48 hr after the race, I was well recovered with just a few sore spots from the race itself (shins a bit, and abductors).

The exciting part of the race was seeing Calvin cheer me on at the finish, and then waiting to find out that indeed, he had placed first in his age group (9-11)! He was first of 7 boys, and at age 9, one of the youngest, AND beat the next boy by almost FOUR minutes. I think he has some talent! I was SO proud of him! He was thrilled, too - and that was a kick to see. He seems excited to do another race, as well.

This was the first race we've done together (besides a Wasatch Walkers 3K when he was 3, and I don't really count that...he ran it instead of walking, because at 3 he couldn't understand - though the club was nice and let him do it). Actually, I guess the VERY first race we did together was in 2005, when he was 1 - it was my first race too. I pushed him in the stroller and won a 3rd place ribbon for the female stroller division :), which got me hooked on racing right from the start. Hopefully Calvin's win will have a similar effect!

I did win the walking division, as well. One never knows about this, because it's not judged and sometimes runners misunderstand and enter and think run/walk is OK. But this year people were honest, and I was happy for the win :). Full results here.

Getting sick pretty much derailed any thought of a Friday or Saturday workout, but by this morning I thought I might manage 5K decently enough. I asked Calvin if he wanted to come with me, and he did! He seemed a bit off this morning, and actually struggled to keep up with me. I think he might have a touch of the stomach virus. We did 5K in an easy 31:33 for 6:18/km, and my average HR was only 133 - like I said, pretty easy, and I'd have been faster alone, but that was OK. I liked the company, even if he wasn't feeling 100%.

My legs are feeling good enough now that I think I will racewalk again tomorrow. That will be the first time I've walked 2 days in a row in quite a long time. I hope I feel good enough! I'm excited to walk again, and the weather has one more good day before we get really cold and snowy (forecast high for Tuesday is only 34F with snow... and it gets colder the rest of the week).

elliptical; 8K

Yesterday: elliptical for x-training, 53 minutes. That's what I had time for! Wanted to do an hour but had to go. Legs were still sore so maybe that was for the best? It was that weird soreness again, not too awful, but there for sure.

Today: woke feeling pretty good so decided to racewalk. During the first 1km I could feel the weird soreness, though it abated a bit as I loosened up. I felt OK - not great, but not bad - so I decided at 6K to go on to 8K; legs were pretty tired but not awful, and I finished in reasonable speed considering the small uphill. I'm paying for it a bit now (at lunch). When I've been sitting this morning analyzing DNA sequence at work, it's been a bit painful. As long as I get up and move around it's not so bad, but sitting is the kiss of death. It's not as bad as it has been, but it's not good either. I'm hoping I'll feel better later tonight and tomorrow. Worried a bit that this is a relapse, but most likely it's the usual scenario where recovery is not a nice smooth linear progression. (Did I just write that? I'm such a geek!).

Total for 8K: 49:33 for 6:11/km with ave HR 144. Garmin data here.

Thursday-Sunday

Thursday: Cross-trained with elliptical + biking to work for a total of 1 hr cardio. Felt good.

Friday: Racewalked 6.3 km around Liberty Park and to/from. Garmin data here. I felt strong for the whole walk, even the slight uphill at the end. It was chilly (4C, 39F) and raining lightly but wasn't too unpleasant. I was glad to get out. Did a pretty good 6:16/km with ave HR of only 142.

Saturday: 1 hr elliptical for x-training - too nasty outside to ride my bike, sadly. I felt quite good on the elliptical, but afterward my muscles were hurting the weird way again. I don't know how to describe it, but it's quite unpleasant. It is not delayed onset muscle soreness - it's a sharper pain, but not sharp like the acute pain of an injury. It's just really odd. It especially bothers me when sitting, and I did a LOT of sitting Saturday. Driving is the worst, because I can't move around as much. I drove a lot Saturday, to and from the Olympic Oval a couple times to watch World Cup speedskating (photo at left-awesome! Saw a world record in the ladies' 500m!), and to breakfast with Kelly, and to pick up the kids from my parents' house. Probably in the car about 3 hr total, plus sitting at the World Cup. It hurt.

Oh, also, I attended my Weight Watchers meeting. I lost 0.8 lb this week, but I can't say I was really trying that hard. I am lucky the scale moved, and I have some work to do on my eating this week.

Sunday: Was still sore when I woke up, but I wanted to try and racewalk. It didn't hurt as much as it has in the past, so I figured I had a walk in me, as long as it didn't make the pain too much worse. The kids were all gung ho to go with me! Calvin wanted to run alongside me, and he can now run faster than I can race walk, though he doesn't have my endurance, even in my weakened state. He had to stop and rest a couple times but he made it the whole 6K with me :). I was really proud of him. Grace came along as well and rollerbladed, but got tired after 4.5K and waited for us in the car. They had a great time and I'm sure we'll do this again - but today marks a major milestone - the first time I took the kids on a training walk! OK, so I'm not in rigorous training, but it's just great to know that they can start to enjoy this with me! Calvin commented that it was so nice to have someone to talk to, and he was correct. I thoroughly enjoyed their company.

I did better than I thought I would on the walk, considering how iffy I felt. My muscles were sore, but it didn't hurt my performance too much. I did 37:32 for 6:15/km with ave HR 141. Of course we did stop a few times to get drinks for the kids/rest a bit, so I probably would've been a bit slower if I hadn't rested, but I still felt all right. Garmin data here.  I kept things loose in the afternoon by walking the dog briskly with my mom for an hour - enjoyable! The weather was chilly this morning at 38F (3C) but this afternoon it was lovely at 52F (11C) and sunny. I'm enjoying these nice fall days while they last. My legs felt OK the rest of the afternoon - sore in that weird way, but not horribly so. Better than yesterday. I got a bit worried that maybe things are getting worse again; however, I'm thinking it's just the usual 3 steps forward, 2 steps back of recovery. We'll see how I feel tomorrow; I'm planning elliptical/stationary bike at the gym, with possibly some racewalking on Tuesday.

recovery; 6K

After my 8K Sunday I was pretty sore! I don't know why that surprised me, but what was more interesting was that it was 80-90% the normal delayed onset muscle soreness one gets from unaccustomed activity, and only 10-20% of that weird soreness I've been having the last few months. I was so relieved to have the usual muscle soreness - I can't explain it, but it just felt good and normal. Unfortunately, it bothered me enough that racewalking on Monday or Tuesday wasn't really a good idea. I was OK with that, and know it's going to take time to get back in shape. As long as I see progress, it's good.

So on Monday & Tuesday, I did the elliptical ~40 min and then biked to work, so I'd have a bit over an hour of good cardio. I recovered well from that.

This morning I felt ready to go - so I planned a walk with Kelly. Her knee is better but not 100% yet, so she racewalked some and ran some. She had to leave early to study for a quiz, so she only walked 20 min with me, but that was super. I continued on and did a total of 6K, and it felt good just like it did on Sunday. I felt strong and able to push myself, which I haven't felt all year, really. It just felt so good. Admittedly, I did tire and the last km or so wasn't as easy, but it felt OK. And best of all, I have only felt a bit of that weird soreness today. I almost feel normal. Almost. Not quite. But I'm encouraged!

My plan is to cross-train again tomorrow and hope to racewalk on Friday again with Kelly :). If I'm feeling brave enough maybe I'll be able to racewalk on Saturday too? But if not, for sure on Sunday I hope. I just hope this trend continues. Finally.

***

Oh, I forgot my time for today. Fast! 37:08 for 6:11/km and ave HR 143. Garmin data here.

Another week gone by...

Since I haven't been training, it's been easier to post less frequently. But things are looking up and I might post more often now, depending on how things go.

This week has been a good one, continuing the upward trend. I continue to have a good amount of energy to get through each day, and I am more able to exercise. Yay! It wasn't a good week at all in the food department, but that's another story. I will address that issue below.

Exercise:
Monday: 40 min elliptical
Tuesday: 45 min elliptical
Wednesday & Thursday: rest days - but due to lack of time, not energy - this one falls into the poor planning department. Usually exercise is my #1 priority, but I kind of blew it this week. I was presenting zebrafish stuff to my kids' classes Thursday morning and just didn't plan far enough in advance, so those days were full of last-minute cramming and extra work to make up for missed hours. Enough said. Lame excuse, but it is what it is.
Friday: 5K racewalk with Kelly (YAY! Kelly's knee is getting better!), in 31:45 for 6:20/km. My legs felt really very good and didn't hurt much afterward. Amazing!
Saturday: 1 hour elliptical
Sunday: 8K racewalk in 48:29 for 6:03/km with ave HR 147! Wooo hoo! Some good speed, and my legs didn't give out at the end, and they have just been moderately sore the rest of the day. In fact, after my racewalk I still had enough energy and stamina for a nice easy 2.5K walk to church and then back once the service was over. 8K is the longest walk I've done since September 16, and this is the fastest I've walked 8K in a much longer time than that. Am I really on the mend? I'm almost daring to hope that I am.

I have continued to eat more protein, and more of everything else as well, contributing to some serious weight gain. I'm not beating myself up, just stating it like it is. I finally bit the bullet and went to Weight Watchers on Saturday. I needed to 'fess up and move on. I needed my meeting and the accountability. I weighed in at 163.8 lb (74.5 kg), way over my goal weight of 155 lb, and way more than the 148 lb that I like to race at. I had to pay for being overweight for the first time in 7 years. I thought it would be humiliating, but honestly, it was refreshing to be back, to get my head on straight, and to start over fresh. I am going to attend every week until I feel things are back to normal again, and then go back to a couple times a month. It will take a while to take the weight off, but I'm OK with that. I just need things to get moving in the right direction again.

Back to exercise: so why am I feeling better? My best guess is B12 and protein deficiency combined to make me feel lousy (fatigue, sore muscles, pain) and once the B12 levels were up I still wasn't eating enough protein until the end of September when I realized that might be a problem. It's not Weight Watchers' fault - I wasn't following their good health guidelines very well. Because of my racewalking, I cut way back on dairy, which in retrospect was probably not the problem with my GI distress (I'm still not sure what causes my runner's trots, but I suspect it's a combination of a sensitive intestinal tract and eating just a little too much the day before a long walk? I also think the higher protein diet is helping a lot with that - we'll see when I get back to long walks again). In addition, I was trying to eat less meat to be more environmentally friendly and more healthful. I wasn't conscientious about replacing it with nuts or legumes, and therefore I actually wasn't eating enough protein when I started calculating how many grams I was getting per day - rare for an American, but seemingly true for me. Now that I'm on B12 supplements and eating more protein, I hope I will continue to feel better and get back to my new normal: athletic and enjoying it!

I had the best time on my walk this morning - I just felt so normal again! I saw my friend Henry at the park, stopped to chat a bit and told him I was feeling better. The weather was just lovely - chilly but sunny and calm, and SO beautiful. It was only 37F (about 3C) but our fall weather has been so amazing this year...I know the snow is coming but I'm in denial. Anyway, it was gorgeous today, and I was just SO VERY HAPPY that my legs felt decent. They felt pretty good until the last 1km, and yeah, I got tired. But it was a more normal tired and not that horrible pain-tired I've been having (well, maybe a little bit). The rest of the day I have had some soreness when I sit too long, but it's been pretty good, really. I am going to cross-train tomorrow, but plan to RW on Tuesday with Kelly.

Here's my Garmin data for the walk today.

the week in review

It's been a whole week since I've blogged. This week has been much better than last week. I've felt pretty darn good - more energy, and able to exercise more.

Monday-Wednesday: 45 min elliptical each day. Felt good!
Thursday: up a bit too late, so only managed to bike to work, but still felt good.
Friday: 1 hour elliptical. Longest I've worked out in a while, and I recovered well from it :).
Saturday: 30 min elliptical + bike to work to do some stuff. Body felt good.
Sunday: Got brave and decided to racewalk for the first time in 2 weeks. I wish I could say it felt good. It felt OK-ish during, and my legs have been stiff and sore since. It's 3pm now and they are hurting a bit especially when sitting. I stretched thoroughly afterward but not sure it helped (don't think it hurt though). I did it at 6:21/km pace for 31:45 total time for the 5K. Not bad. I just wish I didn't hurt.

I told Loren this morning that I was just so glad I'd been able to work out more this week. I really need it for my mental health and for my general sense of well-being, never mind the fact that I also like to eat and therefore need exercise to help keep my weight in check. I hope I'll be able to racewalk again, but if I can't, I will learn to live with that somehow. Not being able to exercise at all would be much, much worse.

I'll play the next couple days by ear. I expect to be sore since I haven't RW in 2 weeks, but I also hope I'll recover well so I can RW later this week. But if it is RW that is messing me up, I will give it up if I have to in order to be able to work out. I have just been SO glad to feel better that it has shifted my perspective monumentally. It's not that I don't fervently hope I can RW again, it's just that I have to prioritize right now. Health is #1, and being able to do some kind of exercise is much more important than being able to racewalk. Feeling good and healthy is such a gift.

Thursday-Sunday

Thursday: felt a bit better. The 30 min on the elliptical didn't hurt as much.

Friday: elliptical + biked to work for total of 45 min cardio. I felt surprisingly good.

Saturday: 45 min elliptical. Still felt surprisingly good.

Sunday: Woke up more sore than I'd like, probably from Friday's bicycling. Hiked with my mom for 45 min (2.75 miles) and that felt pretty good and loosened things up. The fall weather here has been amazing and the leaves are SO lovely (see pic at left)...wish this weather could stay a bit longer. Later, I biked to book club and then up to work, then biked to a friend's home and then home. Feeling pretty decent right now. Hoping I don't pay for all this tomorrow, but I suspect I will. Off to bed soon so that I can get up early for some elliptical tomorrow.

Been eating much better yesterday & today. Right now my #1 priority is to eat right and get in as much exercise as possible. No racewalking for now - I just need to keep my weight under control and feel better if possible. Racewalking was making things worse and so I just have to take a bit of a break from it. I should probably swim, but I'm just not feeling the love right now. I'm reserving the swim card for later, if it needs to be played.

more of the same

Elliptical Monday-Wednesday, 30 min/day.

Legs very sore :(. Took some naprosyn today and it didn't seem to make a dent in the soreness.

Thinking about what course of action to pursue next to try and get some help.

sore

I'm pretty sore today. Just 5K yesterday was enough to do it. ARRRGH! SO FRUSTRATED!

Did 30 min elliptical this morning. Spent the rest of the day annoyed at my sore muscles. Mostly ate pretty well, at least. That's something anyway.

I haven't been feeling depressed again, thankfully. Just frustrated, angry, irritated, pent-up, wanting-to-racewalk-but-dreading-the-aftermath. Annoyed that my boss and his wife did a half marathon last weekend and both did really well...happy for them, yes, but just so annoyed that I couldn't do it too. Irritated that my Facebook friends are all having lots of fun at the races. Stressed that I am still not feeling better. Angry at myself for being such a schmuck when others I see walking through the hospital on my way to work every day have much worse problems.

That's pretty much it in a nutshell. Just getting it out there.

cross-training; hiking; 5K

Thursday, despite fighting off a cold, I did 30 min elliptical and then 15 min stationary bike before going on vacation with my family to Southern Utah. We enjoyed an awesome hike in Dead Horse Point State Park on Friday, and then a hike in the Fiery Furnace in Arches National Park on Saturday before returning home to celebrate my mom's 70th birthday. Whew!

My legs actually hurt a lot from the car ride on Thursday, but they felt fine hiking - no problems whatsoever. We hiked about 6K (3.7 miles) on Friday, and then a bit more (2-3K?) Friday night on a night hike with the park ranger. Then Saturday we hiked 2 miles (3.2K) in the Fiery Furnace, with lots of scrambling and some beginning rock-climbing moves. I wasn't sore at all from that either.

Today I decided to do 5K, because I could, and my legs felt recovered. I was pretty slow, doing 5K at 6:20/km with ave HR 146. I felt OK - legs weren't sore much during the walk. However, now after a few hours, my legs are starting to hurt, mostly in the glutes. It feels like I've done a hard weight training workout - too many lunges or something. It feels much worse when sitting, so standing is better, though not terribly convenient when you want to edit photos, watch football, etc.

My diet hasn't been the best as you might guess, between camping and birthday cake. My weight is a bit out-of-control at the moment. Time to re-strategize and figure this out.

I just wish I knew what was wrong. I wish I knew what to do to make my legs feel better. My fatigue level has improved a significant amount over the last week, so maybe my legs will follow? But I have to assume that might not happen and plan accordingly. I am not exercising like an athlete now, so it's time to stop eating like I am. That will be more difficult than it sounds, but I have a few ideas to tackle the problem. I need to start acting on my alternate plans for when I feel like eating - other things I can do instead. I have been saying this for a while...now time to DO something, before it gets worse.

On the bright side, some photos from our trip:

cross-training, 6K

Yesterday: 30 min elliptical

Today: 6K. My legs didn't feel as recovered as they did on Monday, but they didn't feel horrible either. It was a crisp fall morning, clear and 40F (4C), and it felt good to be out. My legs were OK until the 5K mark, when they started to really hurt. At least I only had 1K left at that point. I was pretty fast through 5K, too - yeah, it's a net downhill, but not really steep or anything, but I still got to 5K at 6:03/km pace (about 30:15 --- gee that's only 20 sec slower than my race a couple wk ago...sigh.........). Then I slowed a lot on the last uphill, finishing in 37:00 for 6:10/km with ave HR 152.

Now (at lunch time), my legs feel quite sore and very tired. Grrrrrr. I WANT TO FEEL BETTER! I want to walk 10K without muscle pain. That apparently is too much to ask right now. I will have to adjust expectations and be patient, two things I'm obviously not very good at. At least there's no pressure of an impending race.

Garmin data here.

rest day, 6K

Yesterday I took a rest day. My legs felt pretty good, so I thought about swimming or other x-training, but was busy working for 90 min or so and also helping a friend paint, so I opted to skip it.

This morning I woke up and my legs didn't feel too sore! They were a bit sore, but it wasn't painful to bend over and tie my shoes like it has been. My glutes weren't screaming at me from the stretch needed to tie shoes (with bent knee). I figured that was good. So I went for a walk with Adriana; we planned on 5-8km depending on how we felt. I thought I'd make 5km but doubted I'd go farther than that. I was pleasantly surprised that my legs felt OK at 2.5km, so I suggested we turn around at 3km and if we felt like more then we could do more when we got back to our cars. By 5km my legs were tired and somewhat sore, but nothing like how sore they have been on some other days. I was ready to stop at 6km, but I could have done more if I'd had to. My legs have felt decent so far today (it's lunch time), though I will cop to taking a couple naprosyn prophylactically.

We did the 6km slow and easy, finishing in 38:25 for 6:24/km (though my watch was off badly for the first 500m (3:46???!??? - know it was not more than 3:10 or so), so it was probably more like 37:45 for the 6K?). Anyway, regardless, my ave HR was 145, so it was a nice easy day and felt OK. I need more days like this. I'm going to allow myself to have a little hope that maybe things are done getting worse? OK, it's only been a couple days of feeling better.

I'm still eating the higher-protein diet, averaging probably 80g protein per day. I wonder if that is helping? It will be 2 weeks of that tomorrow.

Garmin data here.

Can't leave the blog alone...

I guess I need the therapy of writing this, of getting my thoughts on "paper".

Not surprisingly, it's been a tough week. I rested Sunday after the race, and was extremely sore. Glutes, hamstrings, right shin, obliques. Monday I was even more sore, but felt I needed to work the kinks out of my muscles, so I opted for 30 min elliptical. Tuesday, I did 30 min elliptical and I biked to work. That was rough on me - I hurt badly on Wednesday-Friday, but still managed elliptical at least 25 min each day.

Last night I was feeling better. I got a text from Stevie's dad, suggesting I join Stevie for 10K. Well, I thought 10K rather unlikely, but figured a little company for 5K would be lovely, and so I went. Stevie took off like a shot, and I stayed with him, though we did slow a good amount on the way back. There was a lot of frost on the section of the parkway that has the wooden walkway over the swampy area, and we had zero toe push there, so that was slow too. Yes...I said frost. It was 43F (6C) this morning, but near the river it was a bit cooler and there was some frost.

Enjoyed the walk a lot, though the last 2km hurt a good amount. Did the 5K in 31:14 with a high ave HR of 150. Afterward, I took an ice bath. Yes, an ice bath for 5km. Sad but true. Coach thinks it might help, and hey, can't hurt. OK, yes it can hurt! It was freeeeezing cold and I have Reynaud's phenomenon, which was acting up for a couple hours afterward. A mug of hot tea and cranking the heat in the car on the way to Calvin's soccer game eased things up a bit. Despite all that, I think the ice bath helped. My legs are sore but not as bad as it has been sometimes.

I miss racewalking SO much. It felt so good for the first 2.5K, and I wanted so much to keep walking. My boss is doing a half marathon in southern Utah next weekend, and I expressed jealousy. He said, "You can still sign up!" and I had to explain that I could not do it - no way. I know I'd never get through the race. He said, "You could walk". Hahahahaha. I doubt I could even walk casually for 13.1 miles right now. I would love nothing more than to do that race. It made me want to cry. Finally he said, "Oh. I'll shut up now." Thanks...

I admit that last night I felt depressed. I allowed myself to wallow in it a bit. I haven't done that much at all (yet) and have been impressed that though moody, I've managed to keep my head up. But I'm worried that I can't take much more of this. The muscle pain, the sadness from missing my sport, the weight gain due to comfort eating (duh) are getting to be too much. I have avoided the nasty pit of depression, but with winter coming on and being prone to seasonal affective disorder, I will admit to being afraid.

I have a few strategies left to combat this. I have to work harder to get more sleep and to eat right. That makes everything feel better. Eating right has proven to be quite a challenge, though eating more protein the last couple weeks has helped somewhat. I need to have a bit more time to myself, so maybe I will ask Loren to do a bit more around the house, if he can. At the moment he's furloughed from work because of the gov't shutdown, so theoretically he can help; however, he's had a nasty cold which has messed with everything.

Well, seeing this on "paper" has helped me realize I need to do a little more planning and strategizing. I have a bit of time this weekend and hopefully can get an hour to myself to think.

National Masters 5K

The weekend was lovely, except for the race. It was great to see everyone (photo with my friend Lis below), Tennessee was beautiful, and I enjoyed myself. The redeye flight out there wasn't so great, and I didn't sleep enough, so I'm tired now, but that didn't diminish my pleasure in the weekend in general.

The race? Yeah, worse than expected. I hoped for low 29s. Barely squeezed under 30 min, and my heart rate was ridiculously high, averaging 167. My legs hurt from end of the first km on, and now (2 days later) they are very painful --- like I'm recovering from a hard half marathon, not a 5K race.

I did come in 2nd place, but that's not saying so much when I was the youngest in the race except for two teenagers (age 14). I was first in my age group...but then again, I was the ONLY one in my age group. Hey, I didn't get DQ'd!

The course was slightly hilly - slight downhill for 1st 500, slight uphill for 2nd 500 in each lap (1k/lap). It also had a complex turn at one end, so I'd say most people were slowed 30 sec-1 min by the course (vs. a fast, flat course). So maybe I would have done low 29s? No matter. The weather was perfect - 13C (55F) and very humid, which was no biggie since it wasn't hot that early. It was warmer for the men's race.

Garmin data here.

I'm frustrated but I'm doing OK. Mostly.

I'm going to take a break from racewalking, and therefore probably from my blog as well, for a little while. I will walk some for exercise, as I'm able, but will not train. I'll try to update if there is any good news or even bad news or something about my condition changes. I know I could blog about trying to lose the weight I've gained or something potentially useful, but honestly, I'm too tired and too afraid I'd be too negative. It takes a lot of energy right now to just try and stay positive in real life, and adding in the blog makes it harder.

Hopefully I'll be back soon.

mixed feelings

I head to Tennessee this weekend with mixed feelings. On one hand, I love racewalking and love my racewalking friends, and I look forward to being part of all things racewalking at the National Masters 5K. On the other hand, I know I won't race as well as I'd like to. Of course, I also feel lucky that I get to race. It's confusing and perplexing, this mess of feelings.

***

This week in review...

Monday - 3K fartlek in 17:13, and my legs felt stronger than they have in a while, probably because last Thursday & Friday I only did 30 min elliptical each day, and I rested Saturday & Sunday. Way to taper! Hahaha...

Tuesday - rest day.

Wednesday - elliptical plus biking to work = 45 min cardio.

Today - 20 min racewalking. 3.2 km in 19:35 for 6:07/km w/ave HR 139. I felt pretty good while I was out walking, and felt smooth and in control. My muscles felt stronger than they have overall. I'm a bit sore now, but not too bad. 20 min shouldn't make me sore, though...sigh. At least I feel optimistic that I can do 5K and finish at the race on Saturday. Goals? To race as well as I can and be happy with that, whatever it is.

***

New thoughts on what might be wrong with me.

1) Protein deficiency. I eat a fairly carb-heavy diet, when I've tracked it in the past. I read that for a sedentary woman my size, 46g/day is the minimum. Some recommend as much as 125g/day for an active female athlete my size! I would guess I've been eating around 40g normally...that's not much. A small deficiency like that over time could lead to fatigue and muscle soreness and poor recovery. This seems likely, and hey, it won't hurt to eat a bit more protein and fewer carbs. It's something I know hasn't been quite right about my diet anyhow.

2) My friend Sarah (an M.D.) suggested possibly a food allergy/sensitivity causing inflammation. She suggested dairy and gluten as two possibilities, but didn't limit it to that. I think this is definitely possible, though I'd expect I would have more GI symptoms if this were the case. Still, it's not hard to try dairy free or gluten free for a few weeks to see if it helps.

I'm going to try 1) first and eat more protein for a few weeks and see if I feel better. I started on Tuesday and this week has been better than last for sure; however, I've done less exercise and also have ditched the cold that was dogging me, so it's not a perfect comparison. I have to give it a good try - several weeks - and then evaluate again.